Give The Gift of Music

Gift Certificates!

There’s nothing greater than the gift of music!

Purchasing a gift certificate is a great way to further a current student’s education or begin a new student’s musical journey. The Music Studio at Vinings is pleased to offer several gift certificate packages that are suitable for every budget.

At The Studio, all instrument lessons are $135/month and homeschool/adult lessons (M-F, 10 am to 2 pm) are $95/month. The Studio will either reduce or waive our typical $50 registration fee as our gift to you when you purchase a certificate.

Request A Certificate

Wanting to give the gift of an instrument – piano, ukulele, guitar or drums? Here is our advice for purchasing some of the most popular instruments we teach:

Piano

Many times, space and budget do not allow for a true piano, but do not worry! Many keyboards made today are just as effective for the beginning pianist. So, if you are in the market for a good keyboard, we suggest that it has the following:

• Weighted keys, or at the very least, semi-weighted keys so that the touch is more like a real piano.• A stand. This should be appropriate to where you want to put the keyboard in your home…either an “x” type folding stand or a solid, more furniture-type stand.• A comfortable and adjustable bench to sit on. Using a chair will not be the correct height for comfortable practicing.• A sustain (or damper) pedal.• Optional – A good set of headphones. These are helpful if you or your child practice in a busy room or late at night.

Tip: Over our many years of teaching, we’ve experienced that kids and adults were more apt to practice if their keyboard was placed in a high traffic area of the home such as a living room, kitchen or family room. When the keyboard or piano went down to the basement or an area of the house that wasn’t as lively, kids’ practicing dwindled as it’s “out of sight, out of mind” and/or the young children aren’t as comfortable going somewhere by themselves. If you pass the piano often, you’ll be more likely to play it regularly.

This is an 88-Note Weighted and Scaled Hammer-Action keyboard with 700 tones, 200 rhythms, USB MIDI, Digital Effects, 5 Song/6 Track Recorder and a headphone connection. This package comes with a premium bench, stand, sustain pedal and a power adapter.

Ukulele

If your child is interested in the guitar and is under 10 years old, we suggest that they try the ukulele first. It is very similar to the guitar and is much easier to manage for small hands. Once a child has learned to play the ukulele, those same skills translate over to guitar playing when they are ready.The ukulele is a fabulous instrument, light to hold, and easy to play!

For ukulele players, the type of ukulele we recommend is:

Kala MK-S Makala Ukulele

Kala’s ever-popular MK series of Makala ukuleles are ideal instruments for anyone, especially beginners. They are constructed of a mahogany neck and agathis body, with a rosewood fingerboard and bridge. In addition, they come with a satin finish and geared tuners.

Guitar

A guitar is a great choice for older students (11+). Of course, the style of music a student is interested in playing will steer his or her course for choosing a guitar. For rock and rollers, an electric guitar would be a great choice, where conversely, if a student desires to play and sing, he or she may be more interested in an acoustic guitar. Either way, there are many choices for both, and in a wide range of prices.

The type of starter acoustic guitar we recommend is:

Yamaha Gigmaker Deluxe Pack:

The Yamaha GigMaker Deluxe pack offers the guitar player a quality steel string at an affordable price. The star of the Yamaha GigMaker Deluxe pack is the FD01S, a dreadnaught acoustic with a solid spruce top, rosewood fingerboard and mahogany back and sides. Die-cast chrome tuners insure tuning stability. Comes with all the accessories you’ll need to get started including: Gigbag; Instructional DVD; Guitar Strap; QT11 Digital Tuner; Strings; Picks

Drums

Worried about a drum set being a noisy addition to your home? For peace in the household, and especially for beginning drummers, we suggest an electric drum set. These sets are very good quality and can be found at reasonable prices.

We recommend:

Alesis Nitro Electric Drum Set

The Alesis Electric Drum set comes with all of the parts of a traditional drum set (toms, cymbals, a kickdrum, snare, etc.), it’s just all electric! It is easy to assemble, too!

Where to purchase instrumentsOver the years, we know families that have purchased used instruments on Craigslist or other online sources. However, unless these instruments come from reliable sources, you may be purchasing something that may not exactly fit your needs or is overpriced. We encourage you to purchase an instrument somewhere that you will be able to get a warranty and find recourse if something happens to your keyboard, guitar, etc.

For all of the instruments we have mentioned above, plus strings, woodwinds, and brass, we recommend that you visit our music friends at Sam Ash Music on Cobb Parkway. They are very familiar with our Studio and will help you choose an appropriate instrument for your student at a reasonable price. Mention you are with our Studio for a discount!

Currently, we have several ukuleles, a pre-owned guitar, and (only five!) brand new keyboard packages in stock – please inquire at the Front Desk as to current availability, or to view instruments during your student’s lesson. We will even go to Sam Ash for you at no extra charge and hold your instruments for you at The Studio until the holidays!